Pols spar in O'Hare testimony

WASHINGTON--Legislation to lock in place a city-state agreement to expand O'Hare International Airport got a warm reception today from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

"There is an obligation on the part of this committee to do whatever we can to make sure there's an agreement here," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the panel's ranking minority member. He noted that the committee met in Chicago last year and urged Gov. George Ryan and Mayor Richard Daley to address the region's aviation capacity shortfall.

The governor and mayor appeared at the hearing to explain that federal legislation is needed to pre-empt state law that would allow any future governor to undo their agreement, which also keeps Meigs Field open and supports creation of a new airport in Peotone.

Gov. Ryan said the deal represents a chance to break the political impasse over O'Hare expansion and "if we don't take this opportunity it could be another 20 years before it's addressed."

At the hearing, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official announced that a $4.5-million grant was awarded to Chicago earlier this month to begin the airport expansion planning process.

While the reception was warm, it bordered on being overheated at times, thanks to Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., a member of the panel and a dogged opponent of the plan.

A new version of the bill-introduced Wednesday by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is "full of deceit," Sen. Fitzgerald charged. "In my opinion, he made the bill worse, not better. It puts a straitjacket on the FAA and a gun to their head."

To rebut criticism that the original bill created loopholes for O'Hare, the bill now explicitly states that the final expansion plan will comply with all environmental laws and the FAA's funding and safety criteria.

A visibly perturbed Sen. Durbin, sitting in the audience, later testified that he took "strong exception to the remarks of my colleague earlier."

At the hearing, the FAA agreed with Sen. Durbin. "I don't view this as giving (O'Hare) any preferential treatment," said Woodie Woodward, associate administrator for airports.

Still, after the hearing Sen. Durbin expressed a willingness to clarify the bill further if any ambiguities remain. But Mayor Daley signaled that his patience has limits. "The senator is 100% against us. I could do back flips. It doesn't matter what we do."

Sen. Durbin and Rep. William Lipinski, D-Chicago, sponsor of a companion bill in the House, hope to win committee approval in the next month or so and schedule floor votes soon after that.

But Sen. Fitzgerald said "I'm not ruling anything out" in his effort to kill the legislation.